Method for creating a sales slip

ABSTRACT

In response to inputting order, a sales slip processor issues a sales slip with a slip code and a table code of a table at which the order is accepted, and stores order data in a sales holding file. In order to balance or rewrite sales slips, an operator inputs a sales slip code or a table code. The processor calls order data sets with a table code corresponding to the input code from the sales holding file and numbers the sets to create and store an edit data group in an edit file. One edit data set is selected and displayed on a screen display part. A data set next to the displayed edit data set can be retrieved from the edit file through one touch operation that designates a subsequent or previous slip with an input unit and displayed on the screen to thereby facilitate the retrieval of the order data with the same table code.

This application claims priority to prior Japanese patent application JP2004-312680, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a sales slip processing at stores suchas a retail store and a restaurant. In particular, the invention relatesto a sales slip processing method capable of simplifying a sales slipprocessing that is performed by a salesclerk operating a cash registeror POS (point of sales) terminal device at the restaurant, and to asales slip processor using the method.

In the following description, a salesclerk operating a sales slipprocessor is referred to as a “shop operator”. A slip issued for acustomer in response to an order from the customer is referred to as an“order slip (order form)”. Order information recorded on the order slipis referred to as “order data”. The order data that is provisionallyrecorded until payment is referred to as “provisional data”. Thisprovisional data is called “sales data” after the payment.

2. Description of the Related Art

As conventional sales slip processing methods, Japanese UnexaminedPatent Application Publication No. 10-302162 discloses a sales slipcanceling method for canceling a sales slip upon the payment with a POSterminal device at a restaurant if desired.

Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-282562discloses a cash register as such a terminal device, which is installedat the restaurant etc. and to which data about orders from a customer isentered, and then payment data is entered in accordance with the chargesof the customer. Thus, corresponding order data is settled.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 to 10, a description is given of the sales slipprocessing at the restaurant as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication Nos. 10-302162 and 9-282562.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of the block configuration of a sales slipprocessor typified by a cash register or POS terminal device. The salesslip processor has general image processing functions, and serves as aninformation processor including an input unit 101 such as a keyboard, ascreen display part 102, a printer 103, a controller 104 having acentral processor unit (CPU) as a main component, a software memory 105storing a program etc., an order data holding memory 106, and a salesdata storing memory 107, which are connected with one another through abus.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of an order slip 110 obtained by asalesclerk entering order information in a terminal (not shown) andprinting the input information from a printer. The order informationthat is input to the terminal carried by the salesclerk is registered inthe order data holding memory 106 and recorded as provisional data. Theprovisional data recorded in the order data holding memory 106 includesa slip code 111, a table code 112, and an item data 113 as shown in FIG.8.

At the restaurant, in general, a salesclerk operates the sales slipprocessor when a customer pays the bill. The operator calls theprovisional data on the basis of the slip code 111 of the order slip 110with the input unit 101 to display the order data held in the order dataholding memory 106, that is, the provisional data on a screen andconfirms whether or not the display content matches the information ofthe order slip.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation flow of thecontroller 104 when a customer pays for a meal.

Upon receiving an instruction to “call provisional data” which isentered to the input unit 101 using the slip code 111 (step S101), thecontroller 104 searches the order data holding memory 106 forcorresponding provisional data on the basis of the slip code 111 (stepS102). When the provisional data matching the input slip code 111 isfound (YES in step S103), the controller 104 calls and displays theprovisional data on the screen display part 102 (step S104).

The shop operator compares the item data 113 displayed on the screenwith the order slip of the customer, and if matched, presses a “checkout” key of the input unit 101 when the customer desires to check outthe bill.

After “data have matched” (YES in step S105), if receiving aninstruction to “check out” from the input unit 101 (YES in step S106),the controller 104 executes predetermined processings, that is, anaccounting processing for calculating the sales on the basis of thecalled provisional data to print the calculation result from the printer103, and a sales registering processing for registering the sales datain the sales data storing memory 107 (step S107).

If no data is matched (NO in step S103) and the input slip code 111matches with none of the provisional data in the order data holdingmemory 106, or if no data is matched (NO in step S105) and the item data113 is not matched, the controller 104 calls the provisional data usingthe table code 112 in place of the slip code 111 as indicated by stepS111 of FIG. 10 and subsequent steps (these steps are described below).In short, this procedure applies to the case where customers ofdifferent groups sit together at the same table at the restaurant.

Further, if there is no instruction to “check out” (NO in step S106),and the order is cancelled or another order is made, the controller 104executes a predetermined order change processing (step S108) inaccordance with an instruction from the input unit 101 and then recordsthe called and changed data in the order data holding memory 106 as theprovisional data.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for searchingfor the provisional data on the basis of the table code, not the slipcode of the order slip.

Upon receiving an instruction to “call provisional data” from the inputunit 101 on the basis of the table code 112 (step S111), the controller104 searches the order data holding memory 106 for correspondingprovisional data on the basis of the table code 112 (step S112). If theprovisional data matching with the input table code is found (YES instep S113), the controller 114 calls and displays the provisional dataon the screen display part 102 (step S114).

The shop operator compares the item data 113 displayed on the screenwith the order slip of a customer, and if matched, presses the “checkout” key in the input unit 101 if the customer desires to check out thebill.

After “data have matched” (YES in step S115), in response to theinstruction to “check out” from the input unit 101, the controller 104executes predetermined accounting processings, that is, an accountingprocessing for calculating the sales on the basis of the calledprovisional data to output the calculation result from the printer 103,and the sales registering processing for registering the data in thesales data storing memory part 107 (step S117).

If there is no corresponding provisional data (NO in step S113), and theinput table code 112 matches with none of the provisional data in theorder data holding memory 106, the controller 104 displays apredetermined alarm message indicating “no provisional data” (stepS120).

Further, if data are not matched (NO in step S115), and the item data113 is not matched, the controller 104 receives an instruction to “callprovisional data” from the input unit 101 on the basis of the same tablecode 112 as that in step S111 (step S121), and searches the order dataholding memory 106 for provisional data of another slip code using thesame table code 112 (step S122). The controller returns to step S113 andrepeats subsequent steps. In this case, if the same table code cannot bematched throughout the order data holding memory 106, it is determinedthat there is no corresponding data (NO in step S113). Thus, an alarmmessage is displayed.

If there is no instruction to “check out” (NO in step S116), and theorder is cancelled or another order is made, the controller 104 executesa predetermined order change processing (step S118) in accordance withan instruction from the input unit 101 and then records the called andchanged data in the order data holding memory 106 as the provisionaldata.

As mentioned above, the salesclerk who takes on the task of operatingthe sales slip processor such as the POS should enter the code such asthe slip code or table code with a keyboard etc. for displaying the heldorder information as provisional data. In order to switch the displayscreen from this data to other sales information, a shop operator mustcharge a customer for the order or rehold the currently displayed orderdata, and then enter a slip code or table code of the target salesinformation to call the provisional data.

Therefore, especially in the above case, separate tables are temporarilycombined into one in response to a request from customers, and thecustomers are assumed as the same group. Thus, even if the order slipsare separately prepared for different tables with the same table code toenter the order data, in the case where some items have been ordered,this order should be processed separately for different tables becauseof different slip codes irrespective of the customers of the same group.Therefore, when any item is cancelled or added from/to the order slip,it is necessary to cancel or add the item from/to each order informationto hold the changed data again.

Therefore, especially upon the payment, the provisional data should becalled for each of plural order slips for the same group. This forcesthe shop operator to perform the troublesome operation of entering theslip code or table code of several digits with a keyboard, for example,every calling operation.

The following problems remain to be solved. That is, when customers ofthe same group occupy plural tables at the restaurant, for example, andthe plural order slips are issued with the same table code, theprovisional data should be retrieved and called through the entry of theslip code or table code for each order slip at the time of the paymentor data change due to the cancellation of the items, and the additionalregistration of items. As a result, it is impossible to simplify theoperation of the shop operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been completed with a view to simplifying aninput operation of a shop operator at the time of retrieving and callingprovisional data as held order data on the basis of a slip code or tablecode for each order slip upon at least the payment, even when customersof the same group occupy plural tables and order slips are created withthe same table code. In principle, this table code implies the samegroup and so corresponds to a customer code.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to eliminate such atroublesome operation that a salesclerk repeatedly enters a slip code ora customer code recorded on the slip when calling held order data in theplural sales slips, that is, each of provisional data with the samecustomer code.

In order to attain the above-described object, a sales slip processingaccording to the present invention has the following features.

It should be noted herein that order data representing order informationon an order slip is classified as below, for the purpose of facilitatingunderstanding of the present invention. That is, the order data that isprovisionally recorded until the payment is referred to as “provisionaldata”. The provisional data that are organized into an edit data groupwith the same customer code are referred to as “edit data”. Toelaborate, the provisional data and the edit data are the order data,and the data assigned with the same slip code are the same. Further, theabove order data differs from sales data after the payment and thus,these data are distinguished from each other.

As one aspect of the present invention, a method for creating a salesslip for one or a group of customers on the basis of a plurality oforder slips with a computer system, each of the order slips beingassigned to a slip code is provided. The method comprises the steps of:storing, in a memory device of the computer system, data sets of theorder slips, each of the data sets being stored as a provisional dataset; inputting, with an input device of the computer system, a conditionfor designating a group of order slips; retrieving, from the memorydevice with a processor of the computer system, a plurality ofprovisional data sets that meet the condition; and organizing, with theprocessor, the plurality of provisional data sets as an edit data group,each of the plurality of provisional data sets corresponding to an editdata set of the edit data group. According to the method, when anoperator of the computer system inputs a condition for designating agroup of order slips, the processor organizes the plurality ofprovisional data sets that meet the condition. Therefore, the operatordoes not have to input each slip code to designate the provisional datasets.

The method may further comprise the steps of: displaying, on a displaydevice of the computer system, at least a part of the edit data group;modifying the displayed part of the edit data group in accordance withoperation through the input device; and creating the sales slip on thebasis of the edit data group including the modified part of the editdata group with the processor. In particular, the method is effectivefor example when the group of customers change their order, and as aresult, the operator has to modify their order slip data sets.

It is preferable that: an order relation is given to parts of the editdata group; and in response to an operation through the input device, adisplayed part of the edit data group is switched to another part of theedit data group adjacent to the displayed part in the order relation.

For example, the condition is a customer code that is assigned to thecustomer or the group of customers and is included in each of the datasets of the order slips. Table codes each of that is assigned to a tablein a restaurant may be used as customer codes.

More specifically, order slips are assigned with different slip codes.Besides, customers are assigned with customer codes in a one-to-onecorrespondence. Further, previous/subsequent slip designating means,“subsequent slip” and “previous slip”, is provided. Theprevious/subsequent slip designating means can designate, at the time ofcalling and displaying one order data held as provisional data on ascreen, order data recorded next to the order data displayed on thescreen through one touch operation to switch the display screen to thedesignated data.

To that end, at the initial stage of the sales slip processing, the datain the order slips of different slip codes are stored as provisionaldata in a provisional file. Following this, the plural provisional datafor which the same condition is designated are called from theprovisional file and numbered, and organized into an edit file as anedit data group upon at least the payment for the order. At this time,one edit data is selected from the edit data group and displayed on thescreen.

That is, the previous and subsequent data adjacent to the data displayedon the screen are edit data edited into one edit file with the samecustomer code. Accordingly, the previous or subsequent data adjacent tothe edit data displayed on the screen is retrieved from the edit filethrough one touch operation that designates a previous or subsequentslip, and displayed on the screen. Hence, similar order data can becalled in a simple manner.

Further, as a specific structure of a sales slip processor according tothe present invention, the sales slip processor is a program-controlledprocessor including an input/output unit, a memory, and a controller forexecuting a general information processing function. The sales slipprocessor includes: a sales holding file storing data in order slips ofdifferent slip codes as provisional data; an edit file created byorganizing the plurality of provisional data for which the samecondition is designated into an edit data group; and previous/subsequentslip designating means for calling previous or subsequent data next toedit data displayed on the screen through one touch operation thatdesignates a previous or subsequent slip, and displaying the designateddata on the screen.

Accordingly, the controller calls the plurality of provisional data forwhich the same condition, for example, a customer code is designated,from the provisional file to create the edit file, and selects anddisplays one edit data on the screen, at the time of calling anddisplaying the provisional data on the screen. Further, the controllersearches for previous or subsequent data next to the edit data displayedon the screen through out touch operation that designates the previousor subsequent slip with the previous/subsequent slip designating means,and displays the designated data on the screen.

The sales slip processing method and the sales slip processor using themethod collectively edit order data corresponding to all the order slipsassigned with a desired customer code into the edit data group anddisplay one edit data on the screen at the time of searching for desiredorder data. Thus, edit data adjacent to the displayed edit data areorder data designated with the same condition, for example, order dataassigned with the same customer code. Accordingly, at the time ofcalling edit data from the edit data group edited with the same customercode through a simple operation that designates “subsequent slip” or“previous slip” to switch the edit data displayed on the screen to thedesignated data, if the edit data displayed on the screen is not desiredone, an operator of the processor can display desired order data on ascreen in a short time by repeating a simple operation of designatingprevious or subsequent data or by simply calling the next edit data.That is, the sales slip processing method and sales slip processoraccording to the present invention produces an effect of eliminating atroublesome operation that a shop operator repeatedly enters a slip codeor customer code recorded on order slips for the same customer code.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the block configuration of a sales slip processoraccording to an embodiment of the present invention (first embodiment);

FIG. 2 illustrates a form of an order slip used in the present invention(first embodiment);

FIG. 3 illustrates a form of an edit file that is created in response tothe addition of items in FIG. 1 (first embodiment);

FIG. 4 illustrates a format example of a display sales slipcorrespondence table in FIG. 1 (first embodiment);

FIG. 5 illustrates a form of a temporary file that is created after theedit file is changed in FIG. 1 (first embodiment);

FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing the first half of the main operationprocedure of the controller of FIG. 1 according to the embodiment of theinvention (first embodiment);

FIG. 6B is a flowchart showing the second half of the main operationprocedure of FIG. 1, which follows the operation of FIG. 6A according tothe embodiment of the invention (first embodiment);

FIG. 7 illustrates the block configuration of a conventional sales slipprocessor;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a form of an order slip of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrative of how a slip code is input in a mainoperation procedure of a controller of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrative of how a table code is input in themain operation procedure of the controller of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In order to eliminate a troublesome operation that a shop operatorrepeatedly enters a slip code or customer code recorded on order slipsfor the same customer code when a salesclerk (operator) callsinformation (order data) of plural order slips with the same customercode, plural provisional data for which the same condition is designatedare organized and numbered, and thus edited into an edit data group, andone edit data is selected from the edit data group and displayed on ascreen at the time of calling provisional data as temporarily held orderdata.

Accordingly, in response to a designation of “subsequent slip” or“previous slip”, edit data adjacent to the displayed edit data is calledfrom the edit data group on the basis of the same condition, anddisplayed on the screen.

That is, when plural order slips are issued while assigning customercodes to customers in a one-to-one correspondence, the order data of theedit data group may be assumed as the order data for the same customerwith the same condition being set as the same customer code. Hence, theshop operator has only to search for data with the customer code first,and then designates “subsequent slip” or “previous slip” through onetouch operation. In this way, the operator readily processes other orderslips of the same customer, making it unnecessary to enter the codesagain. Hence, the troublesome operation can be eliminated.

Even if plural customer codes are set as the same condition for theorder slips to be collectively processed, the order data correspondingto all the customer codes are organized into the edit data, whereby theprocessings can be consolidated.

First Embodiment

A first embodiment of the present invention is described with referenceto FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 illustrates a form of main components of a processor according tothe present invention. The first embodiment is directed to simplify andfacilitate a sales slip processing for a shop operator at the time ofpayment or change of plural sales slips with the same table codecorresponding to one group at the restaurant.

The illustrated sales slip processor executes the ordinary imageprocessing function, inclusive of an input unit 1, a screen display part2, a printer 3, a controller 4, a program memory 5, an order dataholding memory 6, an edit file temporary memory 7, and a sales datastoring memory 8, each of which is connected with a bus and controlledby the controller 4 by means of a program.

Although not shown, the order data is input as the provisional data to aportable terminal communicable with the sales slip processor via awireless local area network (LAN), for example. A salesclerk who takesan order carries and operates the portable terminal. The portableterminal includes an input unit, a screen display part, and a printer,and executes functions equivalent to the aforementioned input unit 1,the screen display part 2, and the printer 3. Accordingly, the datainput from the terminal device is equivalent to data input from theinput unit 1. The screen displaying the input data is equivalent to thescreen display part 2. The sales slip printed with the printer isequivalent to a slip printed with the printer 3.

The input unit 1 notifies the controller 4 of designated informationthat is entered through the operation of pressing buttons of a keyboard,or the operation of touching a touch panel or an image on the screen orthrough a combination of these operations. Further, the input unit 1includes keys of a “subsequent slip” 11 and a “previous slip” 12 asprevious/subsequent slip designating means that enables skipping to adesired screen with one touch operation, in addition to the foregoingkeys “call provisional data” and “check out/register” in the sales slipprocessor or POS terminal device.

Regarding the designation of “call provisional data”, order data that isrecorded on the order slip and stored as the provisional data in theorder data holding memory 6 is retrieved from the order data holdingmemory 6 and displayed on a screen. If plural order slips are createdwith the same table code, as mentioned above, the data on the slips areorganized into edit data and then displayed on the screen. Regarding thedesignation of “check out”, the provisional data and the provisionaldata set called the edit data are settled and displayed on the screen.Regarding the designation of “register”, the settled order data isstored as sales data in the sales data storing memory 8 and also, areceipt is issued as necessary.

Regarding the designation of “subsequent slip 11” or “previous slip 12”,for example, an image displayed on the screen is touched with user'sfingers or clicked with a mouse. Thus, the order data next to the orderdata that is being displayed on the screen is called and displayed onthe screen.

The screen display part 2 displays characters, a document, an image,etc., on the display under the control of the controller 4 in responseto the designation from the input unit 1. Further, the controller 4automatically displays some items on the display on the basis of aprogram stored in the program memory 5. The display screen may be usedas a touch panel or may serve as the input unit with a mouse.

The printer 3 prints the order slip on the portable terminal side andprints the receipt after the payment on the terminal device, forexample.

The controller 4 includes a temporary working memory besides a CPU as amain component, and controls the structural components communicable witheach other via a bus inclusive of the wireless local area network (LAN)on the basis of the program stored in the program memory 5 to therebyexecute the sales slip processing function.

The program memory 5 stores the program that causes the controller 4 toexecute the sales slip processing function and provides the storedprogram in response to a request.

The order data holding memory 6 stores the order data entered with theinput unit 1 by the salesclerk under the control of the controller 4.For example, the order data on the order slip 20 of FIG. 2 are filed asthe provisional data in a sales holding file 13.

When the designation of “call provisional data” is received from theinput unit 1, and plural order data are generated with the same tablecode, the edit file temporary memory 7 numbers all the provisional datawith the same table code, which are retrieved from the order dataholding memory 6, in accordance with, for example, the slip code underthe control of the controller 4, and then edits the data into an editdata group and stores the data group.

With regard to the edit data group, the edit data are recorded innumerical order of slip codes in the edit file 14. Under the control ofthe controller 4, the first edit data is selected and displayed on thescreen display part 2. At the same time, under the control of thecontroller 4, the display sales slip correspondence table 15 is createdin such a way that the slip codes recorded in the edit file 14 arenumbered in descending order, and status (STS) information and edit filenames are created for each slip code.

The sales data storing memory 8 registers and stores the sales dataafter the payment in a sales file 16 under the control of the controller4.

Referring next to FIG. 2 as well as FIG. 1, a description is given of aform of the order slip 20 that is created by a salesclerk entering anorder received from a customer with the input unit 1 and printing theorder data from the printer 3. The format of the order slip 20 can beapplied to the sales slip after the payment or the receipt.

The order data entered by the salesclerk with the input unit 1 isdisplayed on the screen and then printed for the customer from theprinter 3 as the order slip at the completion of ordering, and alsoregistered in the order data holding memory 6 and recorded as theprovisional data in the sales holding file 13 under the control of thecontroller 4. The provisional data recorded in the sales holding file 13includes a slip code 21, a table code 22, and item data 23 as shown inFIG. 2. Regarding the item data 23 as the order data, a unit price ofthe product is only recorded in the field of “price”, for instance.

The order slip 20 is printed as a receipt for a customer when charges ona meal are figured out inclusive of the total price under the control ofthe controller 4. On the other hand, this data is recorded and stored inthe sales file 16 of the sales data storing memory 8 as the sales slip.On the POS terminal device side, the sales data is stored in the deviceand also sent to a sales center via a communication line (not shown).

Referring next to FIGS. 3 and 4 as well as FIG. 1, a description isgiven of how the provisional data as the order data are retrieved fromthe sales holding file 13 and organized into the edit file 14 as theedit data group to create the display sales slip correspondence table15.

It is assumed that the sales holding file 13 of FIG. 7 files slip codes#01001 to #01003 with the same table code #001 together with the otherorder data. Upon receiving the designation of “call provisional data”from the input unit 1, the controller 4 searches the sales holding file13A for all provisional data corresponding to each of the slip codes#01001 to #01003 with the same table code #001. Then, the retrieved dataare organized into the edit file 14A as the edit data group.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the display sales slip correspondencetable 15A is created. In the display sales slip correspondence table15A, the slip codes #01001 to #01003 filed into the edit file 14A arenumbered, and status (abbreviated to “STS”) information and edit filenames are created and recorded for each of the slip codes.

An STS “1” means a status that data corresponding to a target slip codeis “being displayed on the screen”. For example, in response to thedesignation of “subsequent slip” from the input unit 1, the STS of thenext slip code #01002 is set to “1”, and data corresponding to the slipcode #01002 is displayed on the screen display part 2. That is, the STSof the next code is set to “1” with the means for designating theprevious/subsequent slip with the input unit 1, and the datacorresponding to the STS “1” is displayed on the screen.

As illustrated in the edit file 14A of FIG. 3, if some item is added tothe order slip, the item is added to the edit data displayed on thescreen. On the other hand, if some item is cancelled, the item isdeleted from the data.

FIG. 5 shows an edit file 14B obtained by adding some item to the editfile 14A. At the completion of the editing processing, the edit file 14Bis sent back to the order data holding memory 6 and incorporated intothe sales holding file 13B as shown in FIG. 5.

Referring next to FIGS. 6A and 6B as well as FIG. 1, an operationprocedure according to the present invention is described. FIGS. 6A and6B are flowcharts showing a main operation procedure of the controller 4according to the embodiment of the present invention.

When a customer checks out the bill, a salesclerk makes a designation tocall provisional data with the input unit 1 of the sales slip processorand also enters the table code #001, for example.

When receiving the designation to call provisional data and the entry ofthe table code #001 from the input unit 1 (step S1), the controller 4searches the sales holding file 13 for all provisional data assignedwith the same table code #001, on the basis of the received table code#001 (step S2).

If provisional data assigned with the table code #001 is found as theresult of search (YES in step S3), the controller 4 extracts the foundprovisional data (step S4). If plural provisional data are extracted(plural extracted slips) (YES in step S5), the controller 4 numbers andorganizes the plural provisional data into the edit file 14 of the editfile temporary memory 7 to collectively file the plural data as the editdata group and create the display sales slip correspondence table 15(step S6). In addition, the edit data associated with the first slipcode is set to STS “1” and thus displayed on the screen display part 2(step S7).

If the number of target slips is 1 (NO in step S5), provisional datacorresponding to the extracted slip is displayed on the screen (stepS8).

Through the display on the screen in steps S7 and S8, the salesclerkcompares the display content with the order slip of a customer by use ofthe sales slip processor, and if matched (YES in step S11), designatesthe “check out” with the input unit 1.

After the product information is matched (YES in step S11), in responseto the designation of “check out” (step S12), the controller 4 executesa normal accounting processing (step S13) to end the procedure. Thenormal accounting processing is such that a subtotal, a consumption tax,and the total price are computed from the unit price and number of itemsto complete the sales data and display the data on the screen displaypart 2, for example. Next, if the designation of “register” is receivedafter confirming the screen, the sales data is printed as a receipt fromthe printer 3 and also recorded and saved in the sales file 16 of thesales data storing memory 8.

If no designation of “check out” is received (NO in step S12), and someitem is deleted or added, a normal order change processing is executed(step S14) to end the processing. The normal order change processing issuch that if some items are added as described above with reference toFIG. 3, the name or number of items is added on the display screen tochange the edit data. Next, as described above with reference to FIG. 5,the thus-changed edit data is recorded as the provisional data in thesales holding file 13 of the order data holding memory 6.

If the product information displayed on the screen is not matched withthat of the slip (NO in step S11), a salesclerk designates thesubsequent slip 11 or the previous slip 12 with the input unit 1.

When receiving the designation of the subsequent slip 11 or the previousslip 12 from the input unit 1 (step S21), the controller 4 determineswhether or not there is data corresponding to a slip code that matcheswith the designation (step S22).

Since the edit data is displayed on the screen in step S7, if the editdata corresponding to the target slip code is “found” (YES in step S22),the edit data is displayed on the screen (step S23). Then, theprocessing returns to step S11, and the same procedure is repeated untilthe data of the slip matches the data on the screen.

If no edit data corresponding to the target slip code is found (NO instep S22), the processing returns to step S21 under the condition thatthe edit data corresponds to any of the remaining slip codes (YES instep S24), and the same procedure is repeated. If the edit datacorresponds to none of the remaining slip codes (NO in step S24), thecontroller 4 displays an alarm message indicative of no order data onthe screen (step S25).

Since the provisional data in the sales holding file 13 is displayed onthe screen in step S8, if the operator designates the subsequent slip 11or the previous slip 12 with the input unit 1 in step S21, theprovisional data about the thus-designated adjacent slip can bedisplayed on the screen. To designate the subsequent slip 11 or theprevious slip 12 as above, designating means such as icons “next” and“back” displayed on a computer screen may be used.

Since the search range of corresponding data is limited to the edit datain step S24, even if the operator tries to search memory areas outsidethe edit file 14 for the corresponding data, an alarm message indicativeof no order data is immediately displayed (in step S25) withoutrepeating the procedure.

Owing to the aforementioned structure, even if customers of the samegroup occupy plural tables, and plural sales slips are printed with thesame table code, the order data on the plural order slips assigned withthe same table code can be organized into the edit file as the edit datagroup. Hence, the data about the orders from the customers can bereadily retrieved only by designating the subsequent or previous slip,which produces an effect of promptly responding to a request to changethe order or check out the bill with a simple operation.

This is applicable to the case where customers of the same groupindividually pay for a meal. Even if the slip codes are not serial ones,the order data can be organized into the edit file under the sameconditions, so the orders can be sequentially settled with ease in ashort period.

In the above description, the order is received or changed with theinput unit 1 of the processor. However, even the portable terminal ofthe salesclerk can execute the functions of the input unit 1 and screendisplay part 2, so similar beneficial effects can be attained with theuse of the portable terminal.

Second Embodiment

Another embodiment of the present invention is applicable to generalstores.

More specifically, this embodiment is applied to the case where pluralorder slips are created for a single customer with one customer code toattain similar effects.

Further, even if the orders are collectively settled together with slipswith different customer codes or slip codes, for example, the slips areorganized into the edit file on the basis of the customer codes tothereby facilitate the order change and collective payment albeit not aseasy as the above example.

According to the present invention, in the case of creating plural orderslips under specific conditions, for example, conditions that customersare assigned with customer codes in a one-to-one correspondence, orderdata assigned with the same specific condition are detected andorganized into the edit data group. Thus, the adjacent slip data can bepromptly extracted with ease on the basis of the edit data group.Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the order dataassigned with the same customer code but is applicable to such a salesslip processing that order data of any group are promptly detected withease to change the order or check out the bill not only at therestaurant but at general stores by searching for corresponding datawithin a limited range on the basis of common specific conditions suchas a specific customer code, and organizing the obtained data into theedit data group.

1. A method for creating a sales slip for one or a group of customers on the basis of a plurality of order slips with a computer system, each of the order slips being assigned to a slip code, comprising the steps of: storing, in a memory device of the computer system, data sets of the order slips, each of the data sets being stored as a provisional data set; inputting, with an input device of the computer system, a condition for designating a group of order slips; retrieving, from the memory device with a processor of the computer system, a plurality of provisional data sets that meet the condition; and organizing, with the processor, the plurality of provisional data sets as an edit data group, each of the plurality of provisional data sets corresponding to an edit data set of the edit data group.
 2. The method claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of: displaying, on a display device of the computer system, at least a part of the edit data group; modifying the displayed part of the edit data group in accordance with operation through the input device; and creating the sales slip on the basis of the edit data group including the modified part of the edit data group with the processor.
 3. The method claimed in claim 2, wherein: an order relation is given to parts of the edit data group; and in response to an operation through the input device, a displayed part of the edit data group is switched to another part of the edit data group adjacent to the displayed part in the order relation.
 4. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the condition is a customer code that is assigned to the customer or the group of customers and is included in each of the data sets of the order slips. 